I didn’t want a break, make no mistake. I wanted to keep writing, to keep working, to keep developing new things and to finish a project (or five). But my body had other ideas and essentially forced me to take a break. Which amused the heck out of me, because things like that usually only happen when I am sick or stressed. And I haven’t really been either lately.

Yes, part of it was recovery from Script Frenzy and A to Z blogging, but a larger part of it had to do with sheer creative exhaustion. I would sit down for 15 minutes or half an hour, finish a scene or two, and that was it. My fingers could keep typing but my brain had nothing left in it.

So I was forced to rest. To watch TV, to nap, and to knit. And, for the first two weeks of May, that was enough. I’m nearly done another knitting project: one that uses a brand new-to-me technique that I dare say I have perfected. I’ve got another little something on the needles, and I’m re-watching some of my favorite shows. I haven’t really had any new creative ideas, but I think that the story that I’m working on right now has slowly been percolating away in the coffee pot I call a brain.

I had a good few weeks rest, and even took some time off from work as part of it (I get paid hourly and there wasn’t much to do at work. Not to mention that we’re in the middle of an office renovation that’s happening right outside my door). But I’ve been feeling the creative urges stirring again, demanding that I return bum to chair and fingers to keyboard and do something productive. Which is a good thing, because Camp NaNoWriMo starts in eleven days!

Do I have any new and wonderful ideas? No. And while that bothers me a little (shouldn’t a rest be a breeding ground for such things?), I am learning to live with the frustration. I have a novel on the go and another one in the very beginning stages of being re-planned, and that’s enough for now. Besides, there’s a creative group venture in the early stages of becoming that looks like it will keep me very busy for the next while.

I think that the break was good for me. But now I’m anxious to get back to the writing: the fun and the work.

Do you ever take breaks, willingly or otherwise? How do they help your productivity?